In 1822 Charles Lyell began a geological survey of the County of Forfarshire for Dr John McCulloch who was preparing a geological map of Scotland. He combined the study with a long trip to his parental estate where he also entertained Professor William Hooker. Lyell returned in 1824 to complete 2/3 of the survey, with the companionship firstly of a Captain Ogilvy and later the Rev William Buckland. The studies led to his first published paper On a Recent Formation of Freshwater Limestone in Forfarshire, ( 1826) which he read at the Geological Society of London in 1824 and was later published in their transactions.